Put it on the bill
by Kelly10
Summary: In the Temple of Istar, as the War of the Lance ended, Raistlin paid a debt. For what?
1. Part 1 of 2

"What", Tanis Half-Elven asked, "in the name of the Gods happened, Caramon?"  
"I don't know, Tanis.", the big man said miserably. "We were out camping. He was...well, as fine as I ever hope him to be and then...it was all so sudden."   
The young mage lay pale and unconscious in the house of Waylan the Magician. As soon as they heard what had happened, the twins' friends had rallied around them. Flint and Sturm stood nearby Caramon with Tanis, while Tasslehoff helped Waylan's young daughter Tika at the stricken man's bedside.   
"Do you know what it is, Waylan?"  
Their amiable host regarded them sadly. "I'm not a real mage, Tanis - just a worker of parlor tricks. You know that. This is far beyond me. I can say this much - this is no ordinary illness. It came on too fast, and it obviously isn't the plague. I have seen it before. Our young friend here has antagonized the wrong people."  
"Black Robes" Tanis muttered. Or someone in league with them. Raistlin had been making quite a career out of gleefully exposing charlatans - the dangerous kind. There was little chance of finding the culprit all things considered.  
"You mean, someone cast a spell on Raist?" Caramon asked.  
"I fear the worst." Waylan answered gently.  
"What do we do?" Tanis asked.  
"This is not within the sphere of the Clerics. I would counsel you to race him to the White Robes, for they are the only ones who could check such a vicious curse. But I fear there is no time for that. Unless..."  
"What?" Caramon asked, his face lighting with hope.  
"It is not common," Waylan said cautiously, "But it has been done. Those races born within magic - Dwarves, Kender and Gnomes - have some resistance to such curses. It is dangerous - but not impossible - for them to draw the curse from a victim through a stone of amber, especially if they're young and strong."  
Waylan gave a sideways glance toward the sickbed. Tasslehoff, though usually completely exasperating, could be magnificent in a crisis when he wanted to be. He was now singing softly in Kenderspeak to the mage, his small hand on Raistlin's forehead.  
"No." Flint said flatly. "Absolutely not."  
"Flint..."  
"And what if it doesn't work?"  
"It's an option, Flint." Tanis answered. "He has to be asked."  
Flint promptly stormed outside. Waylan, with Caramon, walked towards the sickroom as Tasslehoff looked up expectantly.  
  
"I'll come out and say it, Tanis." Sturm said. "He's not worth it."  
Tanis sighed. Gods help them, the truth was that none of them really liked the mage, except perhaps for the Kender.   
"Can you go in there and tell Caramon that?"  
"Can you come out here and tell him" Sturm replied, nodding towards Flint, "that something went wrong?"  
They sat in silence.  
  
"I wish you would stop sulking." Tas nudged Flint. "It's really a mood spoiler."  
"I'm not sulking." the Dwarf muttered.  
"Are too."  
"Am...by Reorx's beard, I have better things to do than argue with a doorknob of a Kender!" Flint exclaimed. "Let me be and go get yourself killed!"  
Tas remained unfazed. In spite of the Dwarf's words, he fooled no one. His worry was written all over his old face.  
"Flint, look at me" Tas said, turning the Dwarf's face towards him. "I have to do this. For both of them. I can't turn my back on them, I just can't. Just think good thoughts. Besides," he added with a crooked smile, "You don't think I'm that easy to get rid of, do you?"  
"No," Flint muttered. "I suppose not."  
The Kender looked at him with an odd expression, and then impulsively hugged the startled Dwarf.  
"I won't leave yet, Flint. I promise. Now look, here comes Waylan." 


	2. Pat 2 of 2

"Are you ready?" Waylan asked.  
"To battle a dark mage's spell and be sicker than I've been since I ate Uncle Trapspringer's Goblin stew that time? Why not?"  
Waylan smiled slightly and went back into the house.   
"Tanis, I don't want him in there, just in case. Will you stay out here with him?'  
"Of course, Tas."  
"Kender aren't afraid of much, but it might be a long night. Would you come with me, Sturm?"  
The knight nodded. "I'll stay with you Tas. Until the end."  
The Kender sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."  
With a look and smile back at Flint, Tasslehoff went inside with Sturm.  
  
"What do I do?" he asked.  
"Do you see how the amber is glowing?" Waylan asked. "It is receptive to the curse, that much I do know. From what I've seen before, you just take it and ride the effects out. Just will the curse away."  
"Tas, I...thank you." Caramon choked.  
Tas smiled and squeezed his friend's hand. "I'll bring him back, Caramon. I can be very stubborn, you know."  
  
There was nothing else to say. The room grew quiet as the three witnesses watched Tasslehoff pick up the amber stone. They waited a few minutes.  
  
"Are you sure, Waylan?" the Kender asked, growing restless. "I don't feel..."  
Suddenly Tas jolted, his eyes losing focus. His face turned sheet white, and he started to sway.  
"Oh Sturm, I think...I think it's working after all.."  
The knight lay Tasslehoff down as they settled in for the ordeal.  
  
"How much longer?" Sturm asked. "I don't know how much more he can take of this."  
Tasslehoff had remained conscious, but he had emptied his stomach and was now shivering violently.  
"It's a good sign." Waylan assured. "Look, the Mage's fever breaks even now."  
Raistlin was starting to move slightly.  
"Raist..." Caramon asked. "Raist, can you hear me?"  
The mage lapsed into silence.  
"What happened?" Caramon asked. "He was almost coming to..."  
Waylan shook his head. "He's already weakened. He's lost his fight."  
They heard a thud and Sturm's exclamation, and turned to see Tasslehoff staggering over to Raistlin's bedside. All of them were too shocked to react.  
"Now you listen to me you pasty, miserable, two-bit carnival act." the Kender said in the inimitable fashion that only his kind could muster, grabbing the mage's shirt and twisting it in his hands. "I've been coughing my lungs up all night. If you think you're going to get nice and cozy Up There after all this, you've got another thing coming. Now get up!"  
No one moved. Then, slowly, Raislin's eyes opened, and he gave the Kender a look that would spook the dead.  
"Oh, Raist!" Caramon cried, going to his brother. "Thank the Gods!"  
Tasslehoff slumped back into Sturm's arms, exhausted but laughing with relief.  
  
Tanis and Flint rose as Waylan appeared in the doorway.  
"What happened?"  
"Come see for yourself." Waylan grinned.  
  
They rushed inside to find Raistlin rapidly recovering and Tasslehoff clearly far from dead.  
"Hullo Flint." Tas smiled wearily. "I told you that you wouldn't be getting rid of me."  
"Just my luck." Flint muttered, as everyone judiciously ignored him wiping a tear from his eye.  
  
"Pasty, miserable, two-bit carnival act." Raistlin rasped. "You do take a chance, Kender."  
"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." Tas answered reasonably.  
"I would not suggest such measures in the future, but I owe you much, Kender. "  
"That's alright." Tas grinned. "Just put it on my bill."  
  
They sat in silence, the sun shining. Tasslehoff had offered to come back to check on Raistlin while the others stayed at the watering hole right outside Solace that they used for cleaning up.  
"He was worried, you know." Tas said quietly.  
Raistlin didn't answer.  
"Sometimes I don't think you know what you have in him." the Kender continued, uncharacteristically subdued. "I don't know where my family is now, and I would give anything just to know if they're alright. You're very lucky, Raistlin. You have no idea how much."  
"I wonder where my lucky charm is?" the mage asked bitterly. "He doesn't usually leave me alone this long."  
"I fear he may have had to take a longer, more discreet route home." the Kender answered too innocently.  
Raistlin raised an eyebrow.  
"I'm afraid he has suffered a loss. Tragic. So tragic."  
"Tasslehoff!" a voice roared in the distance. "Where are my clothes? So help me, I'll kill you!"  
Snickering, Tas ran off like a rabbit.  
Raistlin didn't smile, but slowly, ever so slowly, his mouth twitched.  
  
There would be hard times, of course, and no happy ending. But when a time came that the Kender lay dying of poison as chaos reigned around them, Raistlin did not forget. And for a little while, he was touched by grace as he repaid his debt. 


End file.
